Co-Founder, Drone Pilot, Videographer

Stephen has been flying drones since May 2020 when he worked for the Rebuild Paradise Foundation. He has a love for watching and making movies, which has led him to selling a documentary to PBS, and producing over 30 commercials and videos for local companies in the Butte County area. Now a surveyor in training, Stephen is all about making sure he gives the most accurate and best-looking work possible, no matter the industry.

Co-Founder, Land Surveyor, Drone Pilot

Steve first started his surveying career in 1998 by enrolling in the Land Surveying Program at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana; graduating in May of 2000 with an Associate of Science-Land Surveying degree.

He worked in the field initially as a chainman and later in the office as Project Manager. His scope of work included large acreage retracement surveys of the Public Land Survey System, design of subdivisions, elevation certificates, property/'legal' research, 'Family Transfers' (an exemption to the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act), client representation, land use planning and consulting, environmental testing ('perc' tests, applications, responses, etc...). His position as Project Manager allowed him to gain invaluable experience in working with the public (his clients) and representing those clients to public agencies. In April 2001 he took and passed the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Exam and registered with the state board as a Land Surveyor In Training.

Steve moved to Southwest Missouri in 2002 where he worked for a medium sized engineering firm. There his scope of work included small (2-3 Lots) and large (500+ Lots) subdivisions, municipal projects such as: an indoor ice arena, an exposition center, storm water retro-fittings, bridge replacements, state Highway realignments, a minor league baseball stadium, major label hotels, and much more. In 2003 he took a position with this same company as the Survey Crew Manager overseeing three two-man crews.

Having recently passed the national Principles and Practice exam and the Missouri state licensing exam, in 2005, he took a position with a firm that functioned as the city engineer for the City of Industry, California, thereby making him the assistant to the city surveyor. Here his scope work was mainly focused on redevelopment projects for the city including a golf course, hotel, and methane capturing plant built over an extinct landfill, reclaimed water facilities (storage and distribution), industrial subdivisions and infrastructure, resurfacing and lane addition projects, a 600-acre commercial development site, and much more.

In 2008 Steve passed California’s State Licensing Exam for Land Surveyors and in 2009 became a Certified Federal Surveyor. In 2009 he also earned his private pilot certificate; adding a remote pilot(drone) certificate in 2017.

He enjoys spending time with his wife and animals, gardening, small construction/ landscaping projects, working on alternative energy projects (i.e., biodiesel, water rams, PV, solar pumping and LEDs), riding his mountain bike, traveling and flying his airplane.